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Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

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Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

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You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Tuesday Night Open Thread

Tuesday Night Open Thread

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Busy one today. Some work, then some quality tractor time, then I hit the gym for a couple hours and swam, walked, and did resistance training in the pool. Got a nice dry sauna afterwards, then a cold shower, and I felt like at least a hundred bucks. Afterward hit the farmers market and got some more tomatoes and cukes and candy onions, and headed on home.

And now, a couple hours later, I am here to tell you that this fat motherfucker is stiff. I think I used muscles I have not used in years, and swimming laps I felt like I was dragging an anchor or something. That extra ballast I picked up over the years is not helping.

But I feel good, and I know that tomorrow it will be a bit easier, and the next day easier still.

Wish everything in life worked that way.

And no I have not watched one second of RNC coverage because fuck those deplorables.

Reader Interactions

57Comments

  2. 2.

    Ruckus

    And no I have not watched one second of RNC coverage

    No use making yourself want to vomit. Or worse – having to vomit repeatably and uncontrollably.

  4. 4.

    M31

    I saw one clip from the RNC, of Rudy Guiliani tripping and falling into a bunch of empty folding chairs.

    That was enough.

  6. 6.

    oldster

    “But I feel good, and I know that tomorrow it will be a bit easier, and the next day easier still.”

    Good on ya, John. Even when you get to be as old as I am, movement will make you feel better. Sleep a little better, too.

  8. 8.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Nikki Haley looks like she’s got one of those silky pajama tops on. And she’s overdone her make to the point where the blush on the cheek makes her look like a clown. I know all this is superficial but her business was importing clothing. You would think she would have a better idea about clothing and make up.

  9. 9.

    Suzanne

    Swimming is so great. Yoga or Pilates will help with the stiffness. Motion is lotion.

  10. 10.

    Harrison Wesley

    Sounds like a healthy, well-spent day.  Especially the part about leaving the RNC out in the ether.

  12. 12.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    And no I have not watched one second of RNC coverage because fuck those deplorables.

    I for one am disappointed not one live animal has been torn to shreds by the delegates. The GOP is a long way aways from frighting the women and children by calling Kerry a liberal like they did in 2004.

  15. 15.

    3Sice

    I got passed by a shades and beard guy in a lift kitted pickup. On the tailgate was a big ass American flag decal, and… the largest Biden-Harris decal I’ve ever seen.

  16. 16.

    Chet Murthy

    John, that’s great!  Um can I make some suggestions about swimming?  If this is outta line, please just ignore.

    1. If you have time, distance is your friend in the pool.  Slow down, get to where you can swim a quarter-mile without stopping.  Work on distance (even if it means you have to stop to rest every lap) before you work on speed.  I swim my first N laps without stopping at about a 3min/100m pace, and then I do the rest at 1m30/50m (lap) and then 15sec rest.  Even if at the beginning that’s more rest than I really need, by the end I’m using all of it.  A month ago it was more like 30sec rest.
    2. Consider taking adult swim lessons.  I learned to swim as a kid at the YMCA, and I thought I knew how to swim crawl, sure/sure/SURE.  But I didn’t, and when I took a group adult lesson, they taught me stuff that made swimming much/much/MUCH easier.  Then I took some private lessons, and that was a game-changer.  I mean a game-changer.  There’s a thing called “balance in the water” that is everything, and I mean *everything*.  You see people swimming with their heads higher than their feet: balance in the water is about teaching you to do the opposite (head lower than feet) and learn how to get as much air as you want, no problem.  so you swim along with your heels breaking the surface of the water.

      Necessarily that means that you’re spending less energy trying to push your head up, and more of it going forward.  It also means you can swim slower and still get as much air as you want (there isn’t some minimum speed below which you’ll sink).

      3. I also do kickboard after my laps (I always do crawl, but lots of people mix it up).  If you keep your legs really stiff and don’t let your knees bend, kickboard is both excellent for your knees (I have patellofemoral injury in both knees) and just a great way to wind down after your main exercise.

    I’ve started-and-stopped swimming many times in the last 15-ish years, e.g. during the pandemic I didn’t leave the house, so no exercise at all.  This last time I stopped for about a month, and when I started back, I couldn’t swim a quarter-mile without stopping for rest.  But I’m up to 3/4 mi without stopping, and I swim 2mi every day.  Slowly, but still, 2mi every day.

    I read someplace that lap swimming is 18cal per lap.  That’s pretty good for  such a low-impact exercise.

  23. 23.

    Jeffro

    Tonight’s RNC theme is “bend the knee, kiss the ring” night, and even just the limited coverage I’m following through the Post website is enough to make every and anyone barf.

    The story, for reporters brave enough to grab it, is the complete death of the GOP and the utter capitulation of Republican pols: they went with the con man over the Constitution.  Not a spine to be found for miles.

  27. 27.

    Wombat Probability Cloud

    Good for you, John. It does get easier and you have a great attitude.

  28. 28.

    NotMax

    @Jeffro

    Turning once again to Ambrose Bierce. The Devil’s Dictionary:

    Sycophant, n. One who approaches Greatness on his belly so that he may not be commanded to turn and be kicked.

    @SiubhanDuinne

    He brought the coffee.
    //

  33. 33.

    CaseyL

    Excellent way to spend the day! Good on you for deciding to make a regular thing of it, too.

    If I may make a suggestion: a bit of stretching after the workout, before cooling down. Just a few minutes, and gently. It relaxes the warmed-up muscle fibers, so they stiffen less.

  34. 34.

    Salty Sam

    @M31: @SiubhanDuinne: hard to believe, but yup (sorry, twitter link)

    Y’know, part of me watches that clip and says “yeah, I’m of an age and physical condition that I might miss a step and tumble into those chairs…”

    And then the other part of me says, “yeah, BUT THAT’S RUDY FUCKING GIULIANI- BWA HA HA HA HA !”

  35. 35.

    catclub

    @Chet Murthy: they taught me stuff that made swimming much/much/MUCH easier.

     

    And there are still worlds of improvement to be done. Crawl is really hard to get right, thats why swimmers put in so much time doing distance. It is perfecting the stroke.

    Do you really have a meters pool?

  37. 37.

    Chet Murthy

    @catclub: Well, I don’t have a meters pool.  But the YMCA downtown (and at several other locations) has a 25m pool yeah.  And you’re right about how there’s so much to improve in just a crawl stroke — I mean, forget about breast stroke and getting the kick and the pull timed right (I still can’t manage that).

    One of the things that makes swimming interesting is trying to improve your stroke: it’s such an intensely technical exercise.

  41. 41.

    Jackie

    Back to topic: John, when you’re up to it, if your club has water aerobics, check into it. It’s low impact, but SOOO rewarding! Aerobics without sweating!

  42. 42.

    wjca

    @Starfish: John Cole, I have found a political yard sign for you.

    I’m hoping someone will come up with a sign trashing Vance for disrespecting the folks of the Appalachians.  Which, in fact, his book does.  Spread that across West Virginia and there might be some stunned expressions come November.

    Yes, I know there are better targets for our attention.  But a guy can fantasize.

  43. 43.

    VOR

    I’m of a comparable age and started an exercise program last year. I lift weights every other day. It did wonders for my mood because I was always making progress at the gym. Things began to feel actually possible.
    yeah, you will be sore. Tylenol is your friend. There were several nights where I was so sore it was hard to sleep.
    I also found I needed more protein. I was thinking I ate plenty of meat but when you hit AARP age your body doesn’t process as efficiently. I added a protein shake and started feeling muscle growth. I doubt anyone would see it, but I know it’s there.

  46. 46.

    Ruckus

    @NotMax:

    Both of ShitForBrains ears are up his ass, with the rest of his head.

    At least that is what the evidence tells us…..

  47. 47.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    It’s not what he has, it’s what he lacks.

    First, it’s humanity – he’s sorely lacking in humanity, like less than 2 – no, 1%.

    Second, it’s the concept of everything we, the general public has been seeing for decades. He has passed that line, you know the one that you lose all pretense of having any concept of anything that doesn’t require a jacket with wrap around sleeves if you cross it, and he did so quiet a while back.

  49. 49.

    David_C

    “But I feel good, and I know that tomorrow it will be a bit easier, and the next day easier still.” Don’t be surprised if you feel like crap today. Less strenuous recovery days are a good thing. As one ages, it’s not easy to go from nothing to major workout.

     

    But – good job! Covid-era telework allowed me to walk every day. Add a couple days of resistance weights and that’s a decent workout.

  51. 51.

    Ramalama

    @Chet Murthy: I’ve seen other swimmers in pools do that very neat and close crawl, something my kiddie swim lessons did not teach me. I’ve talked about this with family, asking them if they ever learned…and they’ve no idea what I’m referring to. But I think when I get a couple new clients I will take some private lessons.

  52. 52.

    Barry

    @Chet Murthy: “Consider taking adult swim lessons.  I learned to swim as a kid at the YMCA, and I thought I knew how to swim crawl, sure/sure/SURE.  But I didn’t, and when I took a group adult lesson, they taught me stuff that made swimming much/much/MUCH easier.  Then I took some private lessons, and that was a game-changer.  I mean a game-changer.”

    I second this.  I was doing things which my instructor could not even recognize.

  53. 53.

    Chris Johnson

    @Jeffro: More like, the story is how many reporters can be made to report on it as if it is totally normal and believable at face value.

    The shit they end up saying is OFF THE HOOK. Like I’ve said, I’m waiting for them to start including notes of monarchy and sneaking in references of how America’s always been in favor of crushing Ukraine and NATO.

    It just seems as though there is no room for plausible deniability anymore, so it feels like you’ve been concussed, or somebody has.

  55. 55.

    SteverinoCT

    I am happy to see all the swimming comments. My self-taught crawl is pathetic: I cannot coordinate arms and legs, and thought it was just me. I settled for a side-stroke. Not that I swim all that much. My exercise scheme is aspirational.

  56. 56.

    Mel

    @Ruckus: Rudy’s the feral opposum that the kids lure in to the laundry room after mistaking it for a stray cat:

    “Pleasepleaseplease let us keep him! He’s just grumpy ‘cuz he’s thirsty, and he won’t smell so bad after a bath!!”

  57. 57.

    Chris Johnson

    @Chris Johnson: On top of that, Matt Gaetz is in there picking fights with people to the point that Republicans are confronting him and calling him an asshole, on the floor. I watched that video with great interest.

    Of course Rudy is there.

    This is the RNC where everybody literally tied to Moscow is strutting around like roosters, actively bullying everybody else, which might be Russian-like but is a deeply shitty and unwise way to treat Americans.

    They don’t care, they think their plan is going great.

    Because they’re about as smart as drunken Rudy.

    Root for injuries.

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